Ryan Naylor wrote:The Pathfinder nosferatu is very different to the Ravenloft nosferatu. One is like the movie Nosferatu; one is like the Byronic vampires of Lord Ruthven and Varney. The Ravenloft nosferatu came first (in game terms at least, although not in quite the same form) and is well entrenched in Ravenloft from the very beginnings, so (as opposed to the chiang shi earlier) I've left the Ravenloft one as the nosferatu, and the Pathfinder one has been renamed "obyri". For those who are interested, "obyri" is the Slavic word for vampire, and shares the same root as the Bulgarian word "vampir," which is obviously where the English word comes from.
I'd argue about reversing that and renaming the Ravenloft nosferatu.
First, renaming something in the arguably more well-known game system causes confusion. You name the less well-known quantity.
But mostly because I prefer the Pathfinder name applying to that type of vampire. Nosferatu fits the ugly, bald, horrific type of vampire. It matches the movie and the Vampire: the Masquerade clan of the same name. When you Google "Nosferatu" you don't get generic vampire pictures.
Having Nosferatu refer to the Stoker vampire never fit very well because it evoked the wrong mental image. It may have come first but it's a round peg trying to fit into a square hole.
To round out our discussion of vampires: the big one himself, and two others I have a soft spot for.
Strahd of course is much the same as he has been in the past. The familiar he had in 3e has been replaced with an arcane bond for the amulet he always wears, which I thought was fitting. In a sense, that ties into his desire to be left alone - he doesn't even want a familiar bothering him. His spell selection is mostly around his character themes as well - mists, blood, spells that give mastery over weak minds and undead, and the spells that we canonically know he has or invented. We also know (from I,SII) that he stole a peak at Azalin's spell books, so there's a bit of overlap there as well.
Urik in 3e was statted up as a human. It occurred to me when I was doing this that the obvious way to do it was as a leopard - I'm now kicking myself I didn't think of that at the time when it would have been useful. Thanks to his Powers checks, "human" is now his true form, so you can't cast dispel magic on him and be left with a vampiric panther. But, as is appropriate given his paranoia, the cat's still there underneath it all.
He is noted as being cruel even by the standards of the Kargat, and Kargat vampires at that, so I've tried to reflect that in his feat selection.
He is still noted as a nosferatu here; if you prefer Jester's method of swapping the names of the Ravenloft nosferatu and the Pathfinder nosferatu/obyri, call him an obyri instead.
I know Urik's not very popular, but I like him, and his domain.
Finally, Ladislav Mircea never really got a shot in 3e, but he's here now.
Timeline
299 BC Strahd born in Prime Material Barovia.
321 BC Tergs invade Barovia; Strahd leads army against them.
335 BC Str +1. Reaches middle age (physical stats -1, mental stats +1). Fighter as favoured class. Begins to experiment with magic as strength fades.
347 BC Strahd summons Inajira (fails his second or third Powers check), defeats the last of the Tergs, and claims Castle Ravenloft as his seat.
350 BC Int +1.
351 BC Fails his fourth and fifth Powers check with murder of his friend Alek and his brother Sergei, and the massacre of Sergei’s wedding guests. Becomes a full vampire, and darklord of Barovia.
451 BC Mature vampire.
470 BC The Vistani appear in Barovia. Strahd makes his deal with Madame Eva. Fighter 4/Wizard (necromancer) 8 mature vampire. Int +1.
475 BC Meets Jander Sunstar. Stays with him until 499 BC.
528 BC House of Strahd. Heroes attack Castle Ravenloft and are never heard from again.
542 BC Strahd meets Azalin.
547 BC Forlorn appears.
551 BC Old vampire
575 BC Arak created. Azalin goes to investigate the new land; while he’s absent, Strahd uses his minions to copy Azalin’s spellbook (up to level 6 spells).
579 BC Strahd and Azalin accidentally create Mordent. Azalin creates Darkon.
593 BC Gundarak forms. Begins learning new languages.
651 BC Ancient vampire
760 BC Present day.
Powers Checks
Caress (Violence: acts of war: 4%; c.335 BC): Reputation for cruelty
Enticement (Black Magic: association with fiend: 16%; 347 BC): Wizard becomes his favoured class; some Fighter levels become Wizard levels.
Invitation (Black Magic and Violence: magical torture?: 8%; c.349 BC): Don’t really know what he did to deserve this; summoning Inajira may have been the third, and this for some other act of war. In any case, by third Powers check, gained CR +1 from bonus feats: Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes. Black Magic makes him feel young again, but constantly reminded of encroaching mortality.
Embrace (Betrayal and Violence: Murdering Alek: 16%): Gains most of the vampire template abilities, including fast healing and a desire to sleep during the day.
Creature (Betrayal and Violence: Murdering Sergei, massacre of guests: 100%): Becomes a full vampire and darklord of Barovia. Gains the Necromancer specialisation.
Base stats
S 16 D 13 C 14 I 11 W 10 Ch 11 (high fantasy)
Racial: Str +2 (human)
Levelling: Str +1, Int +4
Age: Middle (physical -1, mental) +1
Template: Modifiers from being ancient vampire
Favoured class: skills
CR 24 (19 [levels] + 3 [template] + 1 [PC-level treasure] +1 [darklord abilities])
760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 24 XP 1,230,000
Male middle aged Human Ancient Vampire Fighter 4/Wizard (Necromancer) 16
LE Medium Undead (augmented humanoid)
Init: +11 (Dex, feat) Senses: Darkvision 60 ft, life sight 30 ft (16 rds/day), Perception +30
Defense
AC 39 Touch 23 Flat 26 (+4 mage armour, +1 dodge, +7 Dex, +12 natural, +5 deflection)
Hp 243 (10 + 3d10 + 16d6 +140+20), fast healing 6, DR 15/magic and silver
Fort +13 Ref +19 Will +24 (+1 vs fear, reroll 1/day)
SR 20
Channel resistance +13
DR 15/magic and silver
Immune: undead traits
Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Weaknesses: vampire weaknesses
Offense
Spd 50’, climb 20’
Melee Slam +27 (1d4+21 +3 with arcane strike (swift action) plus energy drain 2, DC 27)
Melee +27/+19/+14
Missile Ray +19
Space/Reach: 5’/5’
S 26 (30) D 20 (24) C — I 20 (26) W 18 (24) Ch 18 (24)
BAB +12/+7/+2 CMB +22 CMD 45 (38)
Treasure
(660,000 gp/880,000 gp)
Amulet of spell cunning/mighty fists +5/natural armour +5/nondetection/shielding/detect thoughts/SR 20, crystal ball of true seeing, cloak of resistance +4/minor displacement/elvenkind, gloves of storing, headband of mental superiority +6, belt of physical might (Str, Dex) +4, mirror of opposition, ring of protection +5, ring of wizardry I-IV, rod of absorption, rod of alertness, rod of metamagic bouncing, rod of metamagic sickening, rod of metamagic reach, rod of metamagic lingering, rod of metamagic persistent, rod of metamagic dazing, rod of metamagic silent, rod of metamagic extend, rod of metamagic quicken, pearls of power (2 x 1st, 1 x 2nd), permanent protective penumbra.
Special
Bravery +1, armour training.
Arcane bond (amulet), Command Undead (11/day)
Boost Undead (11/day): +1 att, save, temp hp, +2 turn resistance.
Blood drain, children of the night, create spawn, dominate, energy drain, change shape, gaseous form, shadowless, spider climb.
Mastery: undead and animal minions +7 vs mind-affecting magic and channel resistance
Master of the castle
Sinkhole of evil
Salient Abilities (4): Reduced vulnerabilities (unaffected by garlic, mirrors and holy symbols), improved children of the night (summon worgs, not wolves, summon undead)
Bat form
+4 nat AC, spd 20 ft, fly 40 ft (good), bite +22 (1d8+15)
Wolf form
+2 nat AC, low light vision, scent, spd 50 ft, bite +22 (1d6+15 plus trip)
Gaseous form
No nat AC, imm sneak attack and crit hits, fly 20 ft, can’t run, pass all Fly checks
Spells
(4/11+2/11+1/11+1/11/6/5/5/4): Opposition schools: Abjuration, Enchantment.
Save DC = 18 + spell level; 19 for Necromancy spells
0 – acid splash, arcane mark, bleed, dancing lights, daze, detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, flare, ghost sound, haunted fey aspect, light, mage hand, mending, message, open/close, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic, resistance, spark, touch of fatigue (all)
1 – alarm, break, burning hands, cause fear, charm person, chill touch, comprehend languages, decompose corpse, expeditious retreat, grease, hold portal, identify, interrogation, mage armour, magic missile, obscuring mist, protection from good, ray of enfeeblement, ray of sickening, restore corpse, shocking grasp, sleep, true strike, unseen servant
2 – alter self, arcane lock, augment undead, blindness/deafness, blood transcription, boiling blood, command undead, darkness, detect thoughts, fog cloud, ghoul touch, glitterdust, hideous laughter, invisibility, knock, locate object, make whole, mirror image, protective penumbra, qualm, see invisibility, spectral hand, stinking cloud, tactical acumen, web
3 – ablative barrier, baneful attractor, blood biography, dispel magic, explosive runes, fireball, gust of wind, halt undead, haste, hold person, hostile levitation, lightning bolt, locate weakness, nondetection, pain strike, ray of exhaustion, seek thoughts, sleet storm, slow, stinking cloud, tongues, vampiric touch
4 – animate dead, arcane eye, black tentacles, cone of cold, confusion, contagion, control summoned creature, detect scrying, dimension door, enervation, fear, ice storm, illusory wall, induce lycanthropy, mimic mortal, shadow step, shocking image, solid fog, true form, wall of ice
5 – cloudkill, cold ice strike, feeblemind, hold monster, hungry pit, magic jar, mind fog, passwall, permanency, persistent image, polymorph, sending, stone shape, telekinesis, teleport, wall of force, wall of stone, waves of fatigue
6 – acid fog, analyze dweomer, antimagic field, circle of death, contingency, control weather, create undead, forceful hand, guards and wards, greater dispel magic, mass suggestion, planar binding, programmed illusion, true seeing, unwilling shield
7 – control undead, delayed blast fireball, expend, finger of death, forcecage, grasping hand, greater arcane sight, greater scrying, greater teleport, limited wish, project image, spell turning, wave of exhaustion
8 – clenched fist, clone, create greater undead, horrid wilting, irresistible dance, maze, moment of prescience, orb of the void, polymorph any object
Last edited by Ryan Naylor on Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:37 am, edited 2 times in total.
Timeline
c.600 BC Created in Thay (Prime Material Toril). Sent to school in Cormyr to be educated.
605 BC Kills Selena and flees Morphayas. Drawn into Ravenloft (Darkon). Becomes a nosferatu. Leopard 5/Fighter 1.
625 BC Engineers master’s destruction, flees Darkon, and kills creator. Becomes darklord of Valachan. Leopard 5/Fighter 1.
760 BC Present day.
Powers Checks
Caress (Black magic: seeking out a nosferatu to join the Kargat: 4%; 605 BC): Form stabilises and can no longer be dispelled.
Enticement (Violence: acts as a Kargat – cruel even by vampire standards: 100%; c615 BC): Cat empathy
Invitation (Violence: more cruelty: 32%; c.620 BC): Blackout
Embrace (Betrayal and Violence: Engineering the downfall of his master: 32%): Extra salient ability.
Creature (Blasphemy and Violence: Allowing the Beast to kill Morphayas: 16%): Becomes darklord of Valachan. Control all cats (takes over cat empathy), curse of lycanthropy, claws.
Base stats
S 18 D 19 C 15 I 13 W 13 Ch 9 (base awakened leopard)
Levelling: Str +1
Template: Str +4, Dex +4, Int +4, Wis +2, Cha +8 (mature nosferatu)
Favoured class: skills
CR 15 (3 [base] + 7 [levels] + 2 [nosferatu] + 1 [PC-level treasure] +2 [darklord abilities])
760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 15 XP 51,200
Male Awakened Polymorphed Leopard Mature Nosferatu Fighter 7
LE Medium Undead (augmented magical beast)
Init: +10 (Dex, feat) Senses: Darkvision 60 ft, Perception +25
Defense
AC 29 Touch 18 Flat 22 (+6 Dex, +7 natural, +1 dodge, +4 armour, +1 deflection)
Hp 112 (8 + 4d8 + 7d10 + 36 + 12), lunar regeneration, DR 10/magic and silver
Fort +11 Ref +16 Will +7
SR 13
Channel resistance +6
DR 10/magic and silver
Immune undead traits
Resist cold, electricity 10
Weaknesses: Vampire weaknesses
Offense
Spd 40’, climb 20’
Melee +2 keen longsword +20/+15 (1d8+9; crit 17+ plus Power Attack (-3/+6) and Bloody Assault)
+2 keen longsword +18/+13 and +1 shortsword +15/+10 (1d8+9 and 1d6+7) or claw +15 (1d4+7)
2 claws +17 (1d4+7 plus Power Attack and Bloody Assault)
Missile Composite longbow (Str +6) +16 (1d8+6, crit x3)
Space/Reach: 5’/5’
S 23 D 23 C — I 17 W 15 Ch 17
BAB +10/+5 CMB +16 CMD 34 (27)
Treasure
(47000 gp/62000 gp)
+2 keen longsword, +1 shortsword, +1 amulet of mighty fists, bracers of armour +4, cloak of resistance +2, ring of protection +1
Special
Bravery +2
Armour training 2
Weapon training 1 (heavy blades)
Blood drain
Dominate
Children of the night
Create spawn
Change shape
Daylight powerlessness
Gaseous form
Lunar regeneration
Restful sleep
Spider climb
Blackout
Curse of lycanthropy
Feline allies
Mastery: animal minions +3 vs mind-affecting magic and channel resistance
Sinkhole of evil
Salient abilities (2): Reduced weaknesses (immune garlic, mirrors, bone stake)
Panther form
nat AC +2, pounce, bite +16 (1d6+6 plus curse of lycanthropy), low light vision, scent
Gaseous form
No nat AC, imm sneak attack and crit hits, fly 20 ft, can’t run, pass all Fly checks
Last edited by Ryan Naylor on Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
Timeline
584 BC Born in Prime Material Sanguinia.
590 BC Parents die of the plague.
606 BC Plague returns to Sanguinia; seals himself and his friends up in his castle. Aristocrat.
607 BC Becomes darklord of Sanguinia.
755 BC The Frozen Reaches cluster forms.
760 BC Present day.
Powers Checks
Caress (Blasphemy: abandons nation to protect himself from plague: 4%; 606 BC): Disease enters castle.
Enticement (Betrayal and Violence: throwing infected friends off battlements: 16%; 606 BC): Gains some chirurgeon abilities.
Invitation (Betrayal and Violence: more violence towards infected friends: 8%; 607 BC): Infected with the plague. Bonus feats (part of vampire template)
Embrace (Black Magic: experimenting on sick friends to find cure for plague: 16%; 607 BC): Aristocrat levels change to alchemist levels.
Creature (Black Magic: cursing guards who left him to die: 4%; 607 BC): Becomes vrykolaka and darklord of Sanguinia. Drain humours.
Base stats
S 10 D 14 C 11 I 115 W 12 Ch 14 (high fantasy)
Racial: Int +2
Levelling: Str +1, Dex +1
Template: Str +6, Dex +10, Wis +4, Cha +2
Favoured class: skills
CR 11 (8 [levels] + 1 [template] + 1 [darklord abilities] + 1 [PC level treasure])
760 BC (Current day stats)
CR 11 XP 12,800
Male Human Mature Vrykolaka Alchemist (Chirurgeon Plaguebringer) 9
CE Medium Undead (augmented humanoid, human)
Init: +11 (Dex, feat) Senses: Darkvision 60 ft; Perception +25
Defense
AC 24 Touch 18 Flat-footed 16 (+7 Dex, +5 natural, +1 deflection, +1 dodge)
hp 89 (8 +8d8 +45); fast healing 5
Fort +12, Ref +17, Will +8
DR 10/magic and silver
Channel resistance +6
Immune undead traits
Resist cold 10, electricity 10
Offense
Spd 30 ft
Melee +9 2 claws (1d4+4 plus disease)
+9/+4 dagger (1d4+4)
Ranged +14/+9 bomb (5d6+4 fire or 3d6+4 fire + 9 rds confusion or 9 rds contagion, fog cloud or stinking cloud)
Space/Reach: 5’/5’
S 17 D 25 C - I 17 (19) W 16 Ch 16 (18)
BAB +6/+1 CMB +9 (+13 grappling; 2 checks per round) CMD 27 (29 vs grapple)
Treasure
(35,500 gp/46,000 gp)
Alchemist’s lab, boots of the winterlands, cauldron of brewing, cloak of resistance +2, gauntlets of rust, headband of Int and Cha +2 [Craft (alchemy)], ring of feather falling, ring of protection +1.
Special
Alchemy
Anaesthetic
Bombs (5d6, 13/day, DC 18)
Discovery: smoke bomb
Confusion bomb
Plague bomb
Stink bomb
Infuse plague vial
Plague vial
Infused curative
Swift alchemy
Swift poisoning
Children of the night
Create spawn
Disease: bubonic plague (DC 21), syphilis (as cackle fever; DC 20), red ache (DC 19), the shakes (DC 17)
Fever sleep (DC 18)
Spider climb
Swarm form
Reduced vulnerability (sunlight; can enter any house in Sanguinia except rooms kept spotlessly clean)
Drain humours
Mastery +4
Sinkhole of evil
That amulet of Strahd's is sure a whole bit more handy than a familiar! Shouldn't you include it's Ego, alignment and mental scores as an intelligent item? Which spells has he set up with contigency? What does strike mean in "Opposition schools: Abjuration, Enchantment (strike)." ?
Some typos crept into Kharkov's post: Lepoard, amulet of might fists.
The Giamarga wrote:Some typos crept into Kharkov's post: Lepoard, amulet of might fists.
And for Strahd, it's Alek, not Alex.
(I'm sure Ryan loves writing huge blocks of well-thought out text and getting replies that are only nitpicks. But that's all I've got time for right now, sorry. )
"We're realistic heroes. We're not here to save the world, just nudge the world into a better place."
Actually a lepoard is a rare type of Thayvian cat...
Strahd's amulet has Int 24, Wis 22, Cha 22, Ego 44 (base 5 + abilities 19 +max spell level 8 + extra enchantments 12), Al LE.
Defeating his amulet's Ego is extremely difficult for Strahd. However (as a general rule), I'd say that evil side of a darklord is generally in good alignment with their normal behaviour, so the item's Ego doesn't interfere with them all that often.
For particularly hypocritical or self-hating darklords (of which Strahd is not one), then it might become a problem. And if anyone else dares picks up the ancestral amulet of House Von Zarovich, of course...
If you don't want to play it that way, reduce the enchantment on his amulet.
Last edited by Ryan Naylor on Wed Jun 19, 2013 7:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Would it be fair to say that with a few exceptions, the power a Darklord has allows him to always overpower his familiar without having to worry about it's ego score?
I agree with Jester on the naming conventions with Nosferatu, but I speculate this is a matter of personal taste. I too have come to associate the term "Nosferatu" with the withered and corrupted Vampire from the movie of the same name.
I like your design choice with Von Kharkov and starting with him as a cat for stats. I did a similar thing with Silessa, and I really like how Pathfinder allows this sort of thing.
Have you ever done any work with Mircea beyond his stats? The little info that you did write up intrigues me; I'd like to know more if you've ever done anything with it.
As for all the Vampire strains, they look good to me, although I admit to some "information overload" when reviewing them. Not that that's a criticism; stat blocks by their nature are usually somewhat dry.
I'd like to mention since Strahd is considered Undead and has Undead traits he cannot be charmed compulsed or influenced by mind affecting abilities like that.
I'm pretty sure Ego falls under that so he doesn't have to worry about it I would say.
To qoute Pathfinder SRD/OGL
VIEW CONTENT:
•Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
Curiously though if someone were to get off a lucky true ressurection or ressurection and get through his spell resistance.... <.< what would happen? He's still be darklord but the ego would then kick in yes?
Would it be fair to say that with a few exceptions, the power a Darklord has allows him to always overpower his familiar without having to worry about it's ego score?
That's more or less what I'm saying, albeit a different interpretation of the exact mechanism. But yes, as a general rule, darklords aren't bothered by the Ego of their bonded items or the dreadness of their dread familiars because they're already as evil as they can be. It comes under the "Mastery" darklord ability, I would imagine.
I like your design choice with Von Kharkov and starting with him as a cat for stats. I did a similar thing with Silessa, and I really like how Pathfinder allows this sort of thing.
Thanks. As I said, I kicked myself for not thinking of it for Gaz IV.
Have you ever done any work with Mircea beyond his stats? The little info that you did write up intrigues me; I'd like to know more if you've ever done anything with it.
As for all the Vampire strains, they look good to me, although I admit to some "information overload" when reviewing them. Not that that's a criticism; stat blocks by their nature are usually somewhat dry.
Zilfer wrote:I'd like to mention since Strahd is considered Undead and has Undead traits he cannot be charmed compulsed or influenced by mind affecting abilities like that.
I'm pretty sure Ego falls under that so he doesn't have to worry about it I would say.
To qoute Pathfinder SRD/OGL
VIEW CONTENT:
•Immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms).
Curiously though if someone were to get off a lucky true ressurection or ressurection and get through his spell resistance.... <.< what would happen? He's still be darklord but the ego would then kick in yes?
That is true. For living darklords with arcane bonds though, I still think Mastery should trump Ego.
And Ego only comes into play if Strahd (now mortal) does something that his dark side in the amulet disapproves of. Since Strahd's normal side is also his dark side, and resurrection doesn't alter his personality, there may not be any conflict.
I'm actually not sure if it is really a mind-affecting effect. It never says so anywhere in the ego conflict description. It only says the possessor must make a will save.
Shouldn't you include it's Ego, alignment and mental scores as an intelligent item? Which spells has he set up with contigency? What does strike mean in "Opposition schools: Abjuration, Enchantment (strike)." ?
)
